


Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly

by Sinfulpapillon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, I couldn't work in a punch sadly, I know, I was really glad to write for this ship btw dnjkfnd, I will go repent for my sins momentarily, M/M, as well as a huge helping of GabrielxAngst, i have failed in my job as a Gabriel fic writer, the poor asshole, with a hint of Gabenath, woe is him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 22:12:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10750839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinfulpapillon/pseuds/Sinfulpapillon
Summary: Gabriel woke to an excessively silent and far-too-big home. While he’d been one to keep to himself, that didn’t necessarily mean he liked to be truly alone. Before he was unmasked, he could at least find an occasional conversational partner in Nathalie and feel reassured that his son was nearby and safe from harm. This silence was too eerie and unsettling. His footfalls echoed in a way he’d never noticed as prominently before. His day-to-day activities became far too routine. His thoughts were too loud without the distractions of work.It was maddening.So maddening that when he first heard music, he thought he was hallucinating.





	Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [poppicock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/poppicock/gifts).



Gabriel was Hawkmoth.

The news spread fast, leaving the man with very little left. His son had left him, choosing to spend time somewhere else (Gabriel suspected it was that hooligan’s home). Nathalie had resigned once she found out Gabriel had been putting his son in harm’s way to achieve his goals. His bodyguard had decided it would be best to find work elsewhere. Gabriel, now alone, was left with an odd form of house arrest. Jail was an option that had been taken off the table relatively quickly. He was less protected in jail than at his own home, and a good majority of the city wished he was dead. 

Jail was surely a death sentence. 

Not to mention that no one had really come up with laws regarding the punishment of magical crimes, especially ones that didn’t really lead to any bodily harm considering that everything would get reset after the damage was done. It left everyone at an odd standstill, and while they knew he’d done wrong, they didn’t fully have a way to prosecute him. Everything was still up in the air and debated thoroughly, leading Gabriel to stay at home alone, with only his thoughts to preoccupy him.

Not that he’d leave anyway. He already didn’t care much for leaving his home and he knew there would be a mob waiting if he stepped outside. It wasn’t worth it at all.

Master Fu had taken the Butterfly miraculous back, as well as the Peacock. There was too much risk in leaving any magical items at Gabriel’s disposal.  Fu, and the city’s resident heroes, had been sure to check over the former villain’s home thoroughly for any other magical items or conventional weapons, just in case. He couldn’t do anymore substantial harm and they planned to keep it that way.

Gabriel woke to an excessively silent and far-too-big home. While he’d been one to keep to himself, that didn’t necessarily mean he liked to be truly alone. Before he was unmasked, he could at least find an occasional conversational partner in Nathalie and feel reassured that his son was nearby and safe from harm. This silence was too eerie and unsettling. His footfalls echoed in a way he’d never noticed as prominently before. His day-to-day activities became far too routine. His thoughts were too loud without the distractions of work.

It was maddening.

So maddening that when he first heard music, he thought he was hallucinating.

He’d been checking his email, trying to sift through all the hateful messages to find anything worthwhile. Ever since someone at the company had disclosed his email address on social media, his inbox had been a disaster. That disaster was something he knew he should ignore, though he often didn’t. The unexpected music was honestly a welcome distraction that he chose to entertain. If anything, he was desperate to break the monotony in any form or fashion. He was already making his way to find the source of the guitar riffs before he’d even given it a full thought.

When he found the room it was coming from, he sighed in frustration. Jagged Stone was lying on the couch, guitar plugged into an amp beside it as he strummed along. Eventually, the rocker realized the other was in the room, letting his head hang over the side of the couch as he looked at Gabriel with a grin on his face.

Well, if anyone had to kill him, Gabriel supposed it would be better if it was one of the people he could arguably call a ‘friend.’

“How did you get in here?” Gabriel glanced over the scene before adding on, “And with an amp, too, no less?”

Jagged plucked at a few more strings before sitting up and setting the guitar down, a brief bit of screeching feedback disrupting the calm as Jagged scrambled to turn the amp off. He grinned sheepishly at the other man before standing up and holding out his arms. “Gabe! My man! How’ve you been?”

Gabriel felt another sigh escape his lips before rubbing his temples. “Must you really ask? Shouldn’t it be obvious?” He gave the other a brief glare before continuing with his questions. “Now, again, how did you get in here? There’s enough security surrounding the place that you should have been caught within seconds.”

“Gabe, I figured out how to get around your security system  _ ages  _ ago, and those security guards are easy enough to distract. You should try to get better ones. That mayor here can swing a bit better, yeah? Or is he  _ really _ that incompetent?” He walked over and set his forearm on the other’s shoulder. “You know what? Nevermind. He totally is.”

“When did you break in before- you know what? I’m not even going to ask.  _ Why  _ are you here? Do we really have to do this dance around the subject this time?” Gabriel muttered after a groan. “If you want revenge, get in line. You don’t get first dibs just because you know me personally, you know.”

Jagged seemed confused at first before realization kicked in. “Oh, you mean the Hawkmoth thing? Why would I want revenge? You made me  _ badass _ and turned Fang into a  _ dragon _ . That was  _ awesome! _ ”

Gabriel deadpanned. Really? That was all that mattered? The possibility that he’d kill someone didn’t factor into anything?  Maybe he should have just given everyone  _ dragons _ . Maybe that would have solved  _ everything _ . Can’t be mad if you have a dragon! 

Gabriel was seriously contemplating if just walking out the front door and taking his chances would be less aggravating than this. “I also turned your stalker into an akuma, too. What about that?”

“Eh, he was about the same. Still stalker-y, still creepy. You gave him a different kind of camera and Ladybug still beat him so…” His arm slipped off Gabriel’s shoulder as he shrugged. “I’m not here to judge you, Gabe. I figured you might want some company. Can’t a guy just visit his friend when he’s lonely?”

“I’m the most wanted criminal in all of Paris. I’m on house arrest and under maximum security because I’m a danger to society. Yet, you want to pay a  _ visit? _ ”

“Look, you’ve always been an asshole. You just took it  _ waaaayyyy  _ too far this time. But you did it because you wanted your wife back. You were lonely. Now you don’t even have the  _ rest  _ of the people you had, so consider this preventative maintenance. I can’t imagine how far you’ll go if you find a way to become a supervillain in this environment.” Jagged threw his arms out to emphasize the empty house. “Doing this to you is like the city is just asking for a ticking time bomb. So, how about you just let me visit and try to make you feel better, you prick? I even left Fang back at the hotel so you wouldn’t want to bite my head off at first sight.”

Gabriel blinked, looking around to see that he, in fact, was telling the truth. He hadn’t even noticed Fang’s absence while distracted by the unlikelihood of the moment. Had Jagged actually come here without the intent to annoy the hell out of him? Gabriel often felt the singer made annoyance his priority while in his presence. He wasn’t sure what of it was intentional and what was just the clash in personality types, however.

Like Jagged said, though, Gabriel was indeed desperate for company, no matter how much he’d like to deny it. There was only so many times he could sift through those emails before he might end up acting rashly. Maybe this breaking and entering could actually be for the best.

“Fine. What do you want to do?” Gabriel conceded, his hands falling back to their usual place behind him. The action instinctively helped ground him in some ways. It was likely a nervous habit, but at least it was a calm-looking one. Jagged had known him so long that he might see through it, however. The walls were back up once more, the initial shock of the moment gone. “No karaoke,  _ please _ .”

Judging from his expression after, Jagged seemed to see the signs immediately, but decided not to point it out. Maybe by now he knew Gabriel often actually felt  _ more _ relaxed that way and would allow him his crutches. “Maybe a board game? Or a card game? Maybe a movie or something? Hey, are you able to get delivery here? You guys finally started doing that, yeah? I know this really good pizza place.”

Gabriel allowed him to ramble, giving out brief replies to at least act like he was paying attention. More of what he said actually seemed to get through, however, surprising Gabriel overall. Jagged Stone actually cutting through into the insistent thoughts that worked through his mind on a near constant basis? He was certainly the last one Gabriel expected could do that. The only one who’d achieved that since his wife disappeared had been Nathalie. In fact, he had felt that there was something starting between them that neither of them dared to speak of due to professionalism. That was surely ruined by the discovery of his other life, however. He was beginning to regret his insistence to bring his wife back the longer all of this went on. If he’d just moved on, maybe he’d still have his son  _ and _ her.

“Hey, Gabe, you listenin’?” Oh, there it was, the point in which he’d zoned out again. Gabriel sighed, glancing back at Jagged with a somewhat apologetic look.

“I apologize, I was thinking about something else. Do go on. Something about a pizza you liked?”

“Actually, I was hoping to ask you something. I know you loved her, and I know you loved her  _ a lot _ , but why risk this much for her? You must have known how badly it would go down if you were found out. Cuz I mean, frankly? This  _ sucks _ .” 

Gabriel went quiet, staring down at his shoes for a moment before replying, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Or maybe I understand just perfectly.” Jagged responded. Gabriel caught a slightly hurt look when he looked up again, but Jagged covered it up before Gabriel could think about it too long. “No one would satisfy you. I mean, you expect the world of people. The problem with that is that  _ she _ was your world.”

Gabriel blinked, shocked at the way Jagged worded it. It was far above what he expected the other man to be capable of thinking. He’d always come across as a bit, well, of the _ lower  _ scale of the IQ test. The words hit deep, however, and were certainly on the nose. Gabriel lowered his gaze again, not sure how to respond. He was a perfectionist by nature, and had higher expectations than most. He’d applied that to his life situation while knowing far more about magic than he should. It had been a bad combination with a bad execution. All he understood in regards to getting what he wanted was demands and a forceful attitude.

He’d learned now that perhaps there was another way. However, it was too little too late. 

“But, you know what?” Jagged interrupted, tugging him out of his currently spiraling thoughts, “ _ I  _ could rock  _ your _ world!”  _ Annnddd _ cue Jagged’s wide grin and finger guns, followed by a wink.

Gabriel rolled his eyes with a groan. “And here I thought I’d finally gotten a glimpse of the lyrical genius everyone keeps insisting you are. Glad to know my previous judgment in that area is still correct.” He turned away and began walking toward the door. “Let’s get back to the pizza you seem so enthusiastic to have delivered before you make me regret letting you stay.”

Gabriel, however, felt a smile grace his features while his back was turned to the singer. It wouldn’t do to let Jagged know that he’d actually come across as humorous. He might let it go to his head.

On that note, though, perhaps having Jagged here wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
